10 Songs is a weekly list of ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists are often dominated by songs played on the previous night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.
This week's edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the playlist for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1072.
THE FLASHCUBES: Soldier Of Love
In the '70s, Arthur Alexander's "Soldier Of Love" became a fave rave among some rock fans via a cover version by The Beatles. It was a song heard only on bootlegs, performed by the Fabs in BBC radio broadcasts during the early flourishes of Beatlemania, not available for legitimate public purchase until decades later. But fans knew the song, and most of us had never heard Arthur Alexander's original. To us, it was a Beatles song.
And it was a Beatles song to Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse The Flashcubes. The 'Cubes added this bootleg Beatles song "Soldier Of Love" to their live set around 1979 or so; I remember hearing them play it when I saw them at a Bowery club called Gildersleeves during my spring break in New York in '79, and it was in their set for a live show at my favorite Syracuse nightspot The Firebarn in May of '79.
I don't remember whether or not I was at that particular Firebarn show, but I've heard the performance. The show was recorded on multitrack, the only Flashcubes show of that vintage to be preserved in any higher-fidelity fashion. 'Cubes bassist Gary Frenay gave me a cassette copy of part of the show several years back, and it's a kickass document of one of my all-time favorite groups at the absolute peak of their live prowess. Covers and originals, The Flashcubes' Firebarn '79 tape is Exhibit A in my argument that the 'Cubes were among the best live acts I've ever witnessed.
We've occasionally played tracks from that Firebarn show on TIRnRR. Only two of those tracks have ever seen official release: "A Face In The Crowd" on the limited-edition bonus disc included with some copies of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 3 (and still available on its digital version), and "Got No Mind," which closes the 'Cubes anthology Bright Lights. The Bright Lights "Got No Mind" fades as the 'Cubes launch into a furious cover of Larry Williams' "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," itself (like "Soldier Of Love") another R & B oldie we learned from The Beatles. It's a shame that the public hasn't yet had an opportunity to hear the entire Firebarn show.
But you will. Mixed and mastered, the original tapes freshly baked and preserved, The Flashcubes' essential Firebarn '79 show is willing itself into...something. Something new. Something cool. As a tease, we played the restored "Soldier Of Love" on this week's TIRnRR, complete with a spoken intro that wasn't on my edited cassette. There's more to come. And I can't wait to hear it all.
Lay down your arms. And stay tuned.
ARETHA FRANKLIN: Save Me
Any record you ain't heard is a new record.
The recent National Geographic TV biopic mini-series Genius: Aretha Franklin introduced me to a 1967 Aretha album track called "Save Me." We all know the Queen of Soul's classic singles, but I don't really know many (if any) of her non-single LP cuts. Hearing the TV soundtrack cover of "Saved" compelled me to seek out and purchase Aretha's original. See, television's job is to sell records.
And it's a fantastic track. The riff is "Gloria." The horn part shares DNA with "Tell Mama" by Etta James. But it's Aretha becoming Aretha. The TV version's lyrical references to superheroes Superman, Batman, The Green Hornet, and Black Panther also caught my attention, though I figured the latter reference was an anachronism; Black Panther had been introduced as a supporting character in the Fantastic Four comic book in 1966, and wasn't likely to have been known by anyone except Marvel Comics devotees when "Save Me" was recorded in '67. (The actual lyric in "Save Me" refers to the Caped Crusader, The Green Hornet and Kato, each of whom was also a TV star in the '60s.)
"Save Me" is on I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, Aretha Franklin's first album for Atlantic Records, following a disappointing stint with Columbia. And the above reference to "Aretha becoming Aretha" is not made lightly; where Columbia didn't seem to know what to do with the natural force of Aretha Franklin, she came into her own at Atlantic. Aretha becoming Aretha. Save me. The city is safe.
CAROLYN FRANKLIN: Reality
I don't think I was even aware of Aretha's younger sister Carolyn Franklin prior to Genius. I was, at least, aware of older sis Erma Franklin's Forgotten Original "Piece Of My Heart," which inspired one Janis Joplin to sear the song indelibly into the public consciousness. But Carolyn and (for the most part) Erma are both tabula rasa for me, and I need to rectify that, just as I need to fill in my knowledge of middle sister Aretha's album tracks. Any record you ain't heard is a new record. We'll start with this track from Carolyn Franklin's 1969 album Baby Dynamite. More to come.
BEEBE GALLINI: To Love Somebody
Awrighty. If you ever wanted to hear a cover of a Bee Gees song that sounds like it was performed by The Small Faces but with a female lead singer in place of Wailin' Steve Marriott, your wish has been granted by Beebe Gallini. From the current Rum Bar Records release Pandemos, which also includes the previous TIRnRR Pick Hit "Nobody Loves The Hulk."
You don't know what it's like? Beebe Gallini SMASH!
ANDREA GILLIS: Leave The Light On
We're giddily enthusiastic supporters of the Red On Red Records label. Red On Red is the lethal plaything of Justine Covault (herself a rockin' roller of formidable reputation with TIRnRR stalwarts Justine and the Unclean), and Red On Red is a presumed component of Covault's plan for establishing jukebox hegemony and--almost incidentally--utter world domination. Okeydokey. She supplies us with tunes, we supply her with willing thralls. Good deal!
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| We must obey the will of Justine. Justine's will must be obeyed. |
"Leave The Light On" by Andrea Gillis adds another notch on Red On Red's campaign tote board. It's a terrific single, calling to mind all sortsa greatness from The Hoodoo Gurus to...well, that's enough right there, innit? And her vocals remind me of someone--Susan Cowsill? Pernilla Andersson?--but I can't quite place it. Not that it matters anyway. It's absolutely wonderful on the radio, and that's all we ask. World domination sounds peachy to us.
BARRY LEE AND THE MYSTIC ARROWS: Dearest
My first exposure to Buddy Holly's music came via proxy, courtesy of those Beatles and their majestic cover of Holly's "Words Of Love." Not a bad introduction, that. I became a diehard Holly fan by the end of the '70s, a path of discovery that led from a 45 of "Peggy Sue"/"Everyday" through the film The Buddy Holly Story and my subsequent acquisition of the 20 Golden Greats best-of LP.
I followed 20 Golden Greats with He's The One, an odd little collection of scattered supplemental Holly tracks, from "Rock Around With Ollie Vee" to "Love's Made A Fool Of You." It was a battered used record courtesy of my best friend Jay, and its battered treasures included a pop song called "Ummm, Oh Yeah." I would later learn that it was a solo Holly acoustic recording, dressed up with additional instrumentation and superfluous tweaking after his death. In any incarnation, the song is better known by the title "Dearest."
I love that song, in all its gawky He's The One glossing after the fact, and in its purer original form. Now, on this new Big Stir Records digital single, Barry Lee and the Mystic Arrows manage a reverent and engaging cover that balances Holly's natural approach with a fuller pop sound that feels natural and easy-going, a delicate freshening rather than a slap-dash coat of paint. They even add a subtle sense of mournful, melancholy ache, a vibe present in the lyrics but not necessarily evident in previous performance.The resulting triumph means Barry Lee and the Mystic Arrows can lay legit claim to continuing The Beatles' legacy of respectful and delightful Buddy Holly covers. Well done, lads.
THE MONKEES: Our Own World
2016 seemed to be a uniquely miserable year, at least until 2020 showed up and said, "Hold my beer!" Even lousy years have their highlights, and the release of The Monkees' transcendent comeback album Good Times! was one flat-out great thing about 2016. Produced by the late Adam Schlesinger, Good Times! retains its vibrant gravitas five years later; as a beyond-avid Monkees fan, I rank this album among The Monkees' best work, maybe even as high as their third-best album overall (behind Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. and Headquarters), and no worse than Top 6.
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| Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Adam Schlesinger |
"Our Own World" was written by Schlesinger, his only solo songwriting contribution to Good Times!; Micky Dolenz shared a co-write with Schlesinger on the album-closer "I Was There (And I'm Told I Had A Good Time)." Just over a year since we lost Schlesinger to COVID-19 in the really, really miserable year of 2020, we served up a spin of "Our Own World" as a tribute to good times starting and ending, good times remembered, good times missed.
MARYKATE O'NEIL: I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around
Damned straight I'm ready. Marykate O'Neil's "I'm Ready For My Luck To Turn Around" remains a comfort in troubled times.
This Friday will mark two full weeks since my second jolt of the ol' Moderna. Yeah, I'm ready. We're ALL ready. Time to start turning this thing around.
KEN SHARP: Something Happening
Our friend (and my former Goldmine colleague) Ken Sharp has a new album called Miniatures, a collection of 32 short songs, each less than two minutes long, some less than one minute long. Well, my notoriously short attention span is thrilled! And it's good stuff, described by our Ken as "intimate and introspective" and "a bit baroque in places." As befits TIRnRR's throttlepop world-view, we went with the more uptempo "Something Happening" on this week's show, but we recognize the delicate wonder of the slower numbers, too. Neat 'n' nifty.
THE WONDERS: That Thing You Do!
As a very general rule of thumb, I prefer not to commemorate the anniversaries of deaths. I break that rule with notable frequency, so I certainly understand the sincere wishes of others wanting to honor departed heroes as yet another twelve-month void cascades into the abyss.
Dana and I didn't set out to pay tribute to Adam Schlesinger this week. Schlesinger's death a year ago hit the pop community pretty hard, and that memory still stings. But in our closing set, I found myself playing The Wonders' "That Thing You Do!," a song written by Schlesinger as the title theme for my all-time favorite movie. Dana followed with "Denise" by Schlesinger's own combo Fountains Of Wayne, prompting me to complete the trifecta with The Monkees' above-mentioned recording of Schlesinger's "Our Own World."
When Schlesinger passed, I felt compelled to exorcise the sadness by writing about it. I wrote a Greatest Record Ever Made! salute to "That Thing You Do!," a heartflet appreciation of Schlesinger's life and work which you can read here. A couple of days after that posted, I added this passage:
"For those of us who are immersed in pop music and/or pop culture, the passing of a beloved artist can seem like an intimate loss, even if we've never had any direct contact with the writer or performer. The art itself connects us. There's nothing wrong with mourning a person we never met, with playing records or watching movies or reading books in memory of someone whose acts of inspiration and creation touched us, and became a part of our own lives.
"As a writer and as a radio host, I've often felt a personal responsibility to pay some sort of tribute when one of my many heroes leaves this mortal world behind. It's not an actual responsibility--I’m not quite that arrogant--but I feel it nonetheless, and if I feel it, I act on it. This blog exists because I needed a way to express my emotions when David Bowie died in 2016. I had written many sincere eulogies for pop performers prior to that, sometimes for print media, sometimes as commentary for playlists on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio. I've taken to referring to these pieces as 'Closing Arguments,' attempts to summarize what an artist meant to me, attempts to pay some kind of proper tribute as I say goodbye."
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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
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